Prolific forward into the FLC book and onto the RMAC semifinals

The NCAA Tournament hopes of the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team got a boost Wednesday with a 2-0 shutout over UC-Colorado Springs in the quarterfinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.

Sam Weiss scored once in each half, tying the FLC single-season goal scoring mark of Kate Mahler set in 2006 at 16. Weiss also set the single-season school record for points, breaking the previous mark of 37 set by Carissa Bradford in 1999.

Elena Benavides assisted on Weiss’ first-half tally, while Emma Cannis had the helper after intermission.

The Skyhawks did well to put Regis’ late rally for a draw Sunday behind them, coming out firing early and fending off a tough, physical Mountain Lions side.

“They’re just mature. They’re starting to mature and able to put those kind of things behind them,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said from Colorado Springs.

FLC entered the game in the sixth and final postseason slot in the South Central Region rankings. UCCS, meanwhile, was fifth.

FLC (13-3-3) will get a crack at the No. 4 team in those rankings, Regis, on Friday in Denver in the tournament semifinals.

“We’ll see kind of how that all pans out,” Clarke said. “Numbers, strength of schedule, all that sort of stuff to be honest with you can be all over the map.”

Amanda Raso made four saves for the Skyhawks’ 11th shutout of the season as FLC avenged a 1-0 overtime loss to the Mountain Lions from September.

To keep the dream of an RMAC Tournament title alive, FLC will have to get past Regis for the first time this year. The two played a 3-3 draw Sunday, and Regis won the first matchup.

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Weiss earns All-RMAC right on cue

As head coach Damian Clarke put it even before the Skyhawks’ 2-0 victory in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday night in Colorado Springs, “Sam (Weiss) has been a menace to opposing defenses all year.”

Weiss scored once in each half to help the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team to its 11 shutout of the season and into the RMAC Tournament semifinals. In the process, she tied the Skyhawks’ single-season goal mark and set the Skyhawks’ single-season points record.

Then she was named to the All-RMAC first team.

“She deserves that recognition,” Clarke said in a news release.

Weiss was one of five Skyhawks chosen for the conference’s postseason honor roll, joining second-team picks Elena Benavides and Madyson Wellcome and third-team picks Lauren Riley and Megan Striedel.

Weiss, a sophomore from Chandler, Ariz., now has 16 goals scored and 40 points this season.

“In my opinion, she is the best passing player in the RMAC,” Clarke said of Benavides, a senior midfielder from Albuquerque. “She is the player our system depends on.”

Benavides’ 23 career assists rank second on the Skyhawks’ all-time list.

Wellcome, a junior defender from Chandler, Ariz., “is probably the most consistent player we have,” Clarke said. “Her toughness and mindset as a whole make her a fun kid to work with.”

Striedel, a junior mid/forward from Mesa, Ariz., moved into the Skyhawks’ top 10 in goals scored this season with her five markers, and Riley, a junior defender from Albuquerque, N.M., made the All-RMAC roster for the second time in three years.

“Megan has a determination and bite that make her an impact in nearly every match,” Clarke said. “Her presence controls the emotion of the team.

“Lauren is our best all-around athlete,” he said. “When she is on, the defense is as good as any.”

Riley was on Wednesday night at UCCS, too, and the Skyhawks’ defense will carry their shutout into a noon rematch at No. 1 seed Regis on Friday in Denver.

Regis earned the coach, defensive and freshman players of the year honors. J.B. Belzer was named coach of the year; Alison Cahill, a junior defender, was named Defensive Player of the Year; Sade Akindele, a forward from Legacy High School in Thornton, was named Freshman of the Year.

Anna Evans, a junior forward from Colorado School of Mines and an Arvada West High School alumna, was named Player of the Year, and Kelly Schroeder, a junior from UCCS and a Coronado High School alumna, was named Goalkeeper of the Year.